Show atre RETURN ANTHONY TRENT STORY FROM THE START anthony trent once master criminal now reformed returns to tew tork after four years absence he learns his alend capt frank sutton Is in sing sing trent Is surprised to find his new york apartment occupied by a tt ranger campbell sut on who represents himself a the brother of frank button trent la asked by campbell to force a confession from payson grant whom he accuses of hay ins crookedly obtained all of frank button s property and then married the batters lat atte trent starts on a campaign to accod the downfall of grant he learns that captain sutton has escaped from and later to his surprise finds that camp bell Is really frank sutton trent takes his place in society M tho opening gun in bis campaign grant he becomes popular at once to be invited as a guest at the grant home Is his first objective CHAPTER V continued 9 alie butler was albera thorpe who bad taken service only with the bluest blood in bis native land and the lung est purses in the country of his adi p alon ue had come to the grants from one of the greit houses in new port the two footmen john sprowston Sp rowston and ft carrow had pedigreed pedigrees grees which spoke of well filled hours of easy toll the women servants were as easy to classify and he could not suppose for a moment that he had ever seen adv of them mary connor as the cook other names meant nothing to him noted that natica grant had a french maid named hii pin she had a room at the top of the ouse and took her meals with brewen the housekeeper the guests who had said n busly that they wee we e glad to meet him were rich dullness men none of them aimed at any higher society than that among which he found him self most of them had ceased to work but none of them had yet learned to play so far as he knew treat bad begun his adventure with every favor ing nand of fortune ue biad no sus to overcome no character to enact but the one they desired him to be and he knew that the gants would be delighted it he staged with them a month instead of a week it was at this moment when be felt himself absolutely scafe that anthony trent turning from the balcony per calved some one had thrust a note under the door in all the years ol 01 his illicit adaven luring in all those desperate alons when capture seemed imminent tie bad never been fco conscious of the bitterness of impending disaster a when he stared at the note borne forewarning oppressed him with alie certainty that here was what would anro his dreams of victory into tire defeat it was addressed simply to anthony trent and alie writing disguised yet it was the of ao educated man or woman which tor the moment he could not tell what guest in ohp grant household would want to send him a letter in such a fashion as this butting the envelope enve ope he drew out a letter of a few lines written on plain cream stationery there was no alg nature some one in this house knows you and the purpose for which you are here unless you and some excuse to iu liay after dinner and before mid night you will be denounced to mr grant if you take this and act promptly upon it you will not be molested if you ignore it you hlll t banded over to the police it was worse even than he had an some one here had either recognized him or had private infer nation concerning hl errand in any se utter rout must be his lot it was to gather from the letter of how much the writer was aware the definite statement unit 1 purpose was known did not but sty trent although the wa sufficiently unequivocal there ia 80 nimeh more he desired to learn hether for instance the writer had merely meant that it was trent a dere 0 o avenge button which had ought about this warning and the er interpret Inter pre atlon was vastly more disturbing conceivably he could s andon bis task and go back to sut g roo and admit defeat this would be u bluer enouyeh to a man so sure of himself as anthony trent but in such a caad sutton would be the only loser if however the unknown writer in gilded to convey the impression that past were known be orld never aaen have a peaceful ita Per hapa after U some ma dign and slow fate had chosen just such for him as hl when his former life was up and he was a purely un selfish action for x man to whom he felt the utmost friendship he smiled a little ruefully as he realized that at least the function of dinner was permitted him he must leave this italian palace on shores jer before the stroke of twelve there was something melodramatic about the midnight touch but whereas before the receipt of this note his fellow guests had seemed colorless fol orless without interest and the a pros hect of boredom it was now a faai alon of desperate intensity trent did not douht that ami angst these eleito was the man or woman who asserted knowledge of hi purpose ie found himself placed on the right hand of ahli hostess on her left sat a all aln old roan whose waln kled and sunbaked deck eluded on all entered profound y anxious to servo sides the encircling collar he wa introduced as mr a great traveler and now devoted to the development of texas oil fields he had a direct way of at one and an uncompromising mariner ot lie announced and 1 reni could not be sure the remark was not aimed at him that be either liked a man on sight or hated him IT P talked a nun that fortunate individual could have the gimben shirt if tie tinted him alm bert would have the detested ones shirt it was this man gimlet eyed and talkative who most interested an thony trent he declared for the benefit of those who cared to listen that his memory for faces was indal elble ue seemed eager to talk to trent the trouble was that front was not able to know whether alca bert was in a shirt giving or ehart taking mood rhe lady on trent s right a mrs risher plunged presently into the sub eject of jewel robberies it was a sub eject unloosened loosened un every tongue trent listened attentively A dark corpulent man at the other side of the table assumed that the recent weld robbery had been committed by a gang of experts 1 I wonder he said but it was the name ufa took the real mount auban ruby from my dear jerome some vears ao that was a mysterious crime if you alke irem listened eagerly to un account of n t his own ex alie dork man held that at least three had been in it from tills he on to bluss nath n hat ties were nad for the perfect crook bibb a ang would great haul here tie announced not a chance said grant I 1 ve burglar alarms watchdogs watch dogs and take every precaution am willing to bet there a bouse on the jersey boist so carefully guarded as this Why Trent asked are you ex petting burglars not for a moment grant eald hastily but one has to take alons there were some robberies at spring bake last week button believed that some member of grants household would be en to protect him from the himml nent assault of a vengeful convict such operatives were in reduced as guests 1 I lie three men servants trent had seen seemed to be merely trained people of their class he had sien many such As to the guels chiev what he might have to well fed hearty men of llie dinner dragged its eary length along until ten anthony trent glnn ind two hours in which to his enemy or leave the house defeated As he rose from the table be felt con vinced that the writer of tl i note had not been one of his fellow diners lie was aware ere half the meal was over that the sense of imminent dan ger was removed slipping away to his rooms trent scanned again the list prepared by more connor dempsey ler darts mennon dupan Appl cgale warner and thompson with the three men and miss brewin the housekeeper these made up the in door help outside were regan and his two men ropes and sake tha gardeners gard enera lived in asbury park and had no business within the house trent rang his bell and informed a footman that he wished to speak with the butler albert thorpe had been informed by grant who in lurn had dragged it from weld that the young american had been an honored guest in the household of the earl of pose carrel thorpe was profoundly ans lous to serve lie wa reassure d when trent nodded curtly I 1 sent for you said trent because you must know about the maids their references and so on thorpe bowed with dignity tell you vv bat I 1 want to know trent went on 1 I have reason to ba aleve that some one here desires tn blackmail me for a youthful indiscretion now 1 don t propose to submit to that sort 1 filing and 1 am equally anxious to keep it concealed from my hostess I 1 am telling you this because you have seen life and understand indeed 1 do sir said thorpe eagerly how can 1 help you sir I 1 want to find out if there I 1 anny one here whose writing Is like this trent tore a line from the note it read after dinner and before mid night you will thorpe looked at his watch it was half past ten how long can iru give me not more than un hour 1 must fo downstairs no v if you have found out come and interrupt me nu matter what I 1 m doing say that mr weld wants me on the long distance and won t give a message I 1 am in the habit of paying for any services and 1 am sure you are never had a fourth at auction bridge been less ready tor his favorite game than trent it was while he was dummy that albert thorpe approached pro ached suave and discreet sir weld on the long distance he said in a voice all might hear k he won t give a message sir he says he mast speak to you per excusing himself trent walked to a telephone booth made from a sedan chair which stood in the halt lest eyes should be on him he en it closed the door and pretend ed to it thorpe had no corn fort to offer this fake call would lend color to any excuse he might be upon to account for an d departure when a reasonable amount of alm tind elapsed he came out and saw the butler place a letter on a nearby chair pinned to it wa the line be had torn from the mysterious mes sue the letter was written a month earlier to airs payson grant the marle dupan wag apparently a of the french language and had been employed in households of rank and fashion the writing of the two documents was identical anhony trent ans sure h had never heard of mademoiselle dupla and doubted if he had seen her writ ing before and yet she had threat i ened him TO BE CONTINUED |